US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, called Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Federal Closure
The impact on US citizens from the longest closure of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were compelled to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Plan from Florida Resort
As Saturday's session got started, Republican senators embraced a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by HSA-style accounts.
"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking Insurance Companies in order to save the bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump posted.
Republican Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators praised the proposal, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and displayed a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator wrote in reply to Trump's proposal. "We must stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Response
Opposition senators expressed concerned reactions to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the censure of carriers by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an developing plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in return for a later vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before discussing the future of the tax credits.
"Inaction is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Situation
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some observers indicated that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover individuals with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump returned to his residence and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.
